GB2565992A

GB2565992A - Improvements in piling cages

Info

Publication number: GB2565992A
Application number: GB1700237.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harrison Mark
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-01-06
Filing date: 2017-01-06
Publication date: 2019-03-06
Also published as: GB201700237D0

Abstract

A pre-fabricated pile cage featuring an outer cage component 11, a first inner component 12 attached to the outer cage component and a second inner component 13 moveable between one side of the outer cage and the other side of the outer cage. The outer cage component may be a ring and the inner components may be elongate bars. The first bar may be welded to the cage. The second bar may be connected to the outer cage or first bar by a lever 14 which allows the second bar to be extended across the cage. A bolt 22 may be used to operate a drive mechanism for extending the second bar. When unextended, the piles may be stacked together more closely to thereby reduce the storage space required.

Description

Improvements in Piling Cages

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to piling cages and in particular to pre-assembled piling cages Background of the Invention

Piling is a very old technique that is used to support structures such as bridges, commercial buildings, houses, etc. Piling involves inserting or forming an elongate element that stretches from the ground at the surface to ground beneath the surface that is capable of bearing weight.

Historically, piles have been formed of timber, masonry, steel and concrete. A piling technique that is currently common is to bore a hole from the ground surface to a depth where the ground is capable of bearing weight, to insert steel reinforcement into the hole and then to back fill the hole with concrete.

Whilst many different forms of steel reinforcement can be used, a popular form consists of what is known as a piling cage. A piling cage typically comprises a metal spiral with rods welded to the spiral. A typical example of an assembled piling cage is shown in Figure 1.

Piling cages of the type illustrated in Figure 1 are supplied to building sites in both preassembled form and in a form that requires assembly on site. The advantage of using a preassembled piling cage is that it is not necessary to have skilled workers on site to undertake the necessary cutting and welding. The assembly work can be done in factory conditions rather than in the open air conditions of a building site, and the time on site can be reduced. However, assembled piling cages are very inefficient both to store and transport, as they have a low weight to volume ratio. The number of pre-assembled piling cages that can be manufactured may be limited by the storage space available. The building site itself may have very limited storage space available, and this lack of space may require multiple deliveries to be made.

Japanese patent application no 3735828 describes a collapsible reinforcing bar cage in which the bars are flexible, being steel wire strands. A reinforcement ring 3 of rigid steel wire is attached to the flexible wire strands. In its collapsed state the cage is elliptical in plan view. When filled with concrete the cage changes to occupy a substantially circular shape. Whilst a stack of cages of elliptical shape may occupy a smaller volume than circular cages, they nevertheless occupy a significant volume. Also, the flexible nature of the reinforcing bars may not acceptable in the building industry.

It would therefore be advantageous to provide a piling cage that is pre-assembled, yet which is much more efficient to both store and transport. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide such a pre-assembled piling cage in a form that closely resembles piling cages that are in common use, as typified in Figure 1.

Summary of the Invention

According to the invention there is provided a pre-fabricated piling cage comprising an outer cage component, at least one first inner component which is attached to the outer cage component and at least one second inner component which is moveable between a collapsed position where the at least one second inner component lies to one side of the outer cage and an extended position where the at least one second component lies to the other side of the outer cage.

Preferably, in the extended position the at least one second component lies substantially adjacent to and in engagement with an inner surface of the outer cage component.

The outer cage component is typically elongate. The ring may be circular, elliptical or polygonal for example.

The outer cage is preferably in the in the form of a ring in cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said outer cage. Such a ring shape may be circular or polygonal for example.

Preferably, the outer cage comprises an element such as a bar or rod or wire, typically of metal. The element may be wound into a helix. The element is such that when wound into a helix the outer cage is stiff and substantially retains its own shape. The helix configuration nevertheless provides a degree of resilience.

Alternatively, rather than being formed in a helix, the outer cage may be formed by a plurality of rings. Such rings may be attached to the at least one first inner component. Such a piling cage and the parts thereof would also have a degree of resilience.

The first inner component may comprise one or more elongate elements extending in the axial direction of the outer cage. The elongate element may be a bar or a rod for example.

The second inner component may comprise one or more elongate elements extending in the axial direction of the outer cage, the or each elongate element typically being a bar or rod.

Advantageously, the or each second inner component is attached to one or more of the at least one first inner component or the outer cage or to another component that is attached to the outer cage and/or the first inner component. The pre-fabricated piling cage may comprise a base and the or each second inner component may be attached to the base.

At least two levers may be provided between the second inner component and the first inner component or the outer cage, the levers pivotally connected to each of the second inner component and a selected one of the first inner component or the outer cage.

Advantageously, the prefabricated piling cage includes means to move the second inner component to the extended position. It is preferred that such means comprise an elongate externally threaded member attached to the outer cage either directly or via an intermediary component in a manner that permits rotation of the externally threaded member about its own axis and an internally threaded member attached to or comprising a part of at least one of the at least two levers. In use, rotating the externally threaded member causes the at least one lever to rotate about its pivotal attachment to the first inner component or the outer cage, thereby bringing the second inner member into engagement with the outer cage.

The externally threaded member may be mounted in the base. The base may comprise a substantially U-shaped element, the free ends of the U-shaped element attached to the outer cage or the first inner component. The U-shaped element may include legs. In use, such legs may extend in the longitudinal direction of the first component, with the part of the U-shaped element that supports the elongate threaded member extending substantially perpendicular thereto.

The outer cage components have the ability of the cage to change shape slightly upon application of a force from the inside of the cage pressing outwards. This allows for a tight abutment of the second inner component against the inner surface of the outer cage to be made.

The second inner component could be fastened in position against the inner surface of the outer cage using other means, for example wire ties, welding, etc.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the Drawings, which illustrate the prior art and preferred embodiments of the invention, and which are by way of example:

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a pre-fabricated piling cage of the prior art;

Figure 1a is an end view of two pre-fabricated piling cages arranged for transportation;

Figure 1 b is an end view of three pre-fabricated piling cages arranged for transportation;

Figure 2 is a side view of a piling cage according to the invention in a collapsed configuration;

Figure 2a is a cross-section on the axis b-b in Figure 2;

Figure 2b is a cross-section on the axis b-b in Figure 2;

Figure 3 is a side view of the pre-fabricated piling cage in a working configuration;

Figure 3a is a cross-section on the axis a-a of Figure 3;

Figure 3b is a cross-section on the axis b-b in Figure 3;

Figure 3c is a cross-section on axis c-c in Figure 3;

Figure 4a is an end view of two piling cages of the invention arranged for transportation; and

Figure 4b is an end view of three piling cages of the invention arranged for transportation.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 illustrates a pre-assembled piling cage 1 of the prior art. An outer cage 2 of helical construction has bars 3 attached thereto, typically by welding.

Referring now to Figures 2-2b, the pre-assembled piling cage 10 comprises a helical outer cage 11 and first inner components in the form of bars 12, which are attached to the outer cage, for example by welding at the point where the outer surface of each of the bars 12 engages with the inner surface of the outer cage 2.

Second inner components also in the form of bars 13 are pivotally attached to one end of levers 14, the other end of each lever 14 being attached to the bars 12 in this embodiment. The bars 13 are spaced apart from one another by approximately the same distance as the bars 12. It will be appreciated that by pivoting the levers 14, the bars 13 may be moved from a collapsed configuration shown in Figures 2-2b to an extended configuration, as shown in Figures 3 to 3d.

The levers 14 may be formed from a plastic material. Each lever 14 has a hole 15 at opposing ends thereof. The bars 12 and 13 are provided with holes at spaced apart locations along their lengths. For assembly of the piling cage the holes 15 in the levers 14 are aligned with the holes provided for the bars 12, 13. The holes may be drilled in the bars, or brackets having suitable holes therein may be attached to the bars 12, 13.

The assembly of the levers 14 to the bars 12 and 13 is best illustrated in Figures 3a and 3b.

Rods 16 are provided to pass through the aligned holes in or associated with the bars 12, and the holes 15 of the levers 14. The levers 15 are held in a spaced apart configuration by spacers 17. A rod 16 passes through each of the spacers 17.

The levers 14 and spacers 17 may be comprised in a single lever component. Such a component may include through bores for receipt of rods 16, or alternatively the component may be provided with suitably dimensioned stub shafts in the place of rods 16.

As will be appreciated the bars 13 may be moved from the collapsed configuration shown in Figure 2 to the extended configuration shown in Figure 3.

The illustrated embodiment of the pre-assembled piling cage of the invention is provided with a means 20 to move the bars 13 from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figure 3.

The means 20 to move the bars 13 comprises a bracket 21 having a U-shaped portion 21a from which legs 21b extend, perpendicularly to the plane of the U-shaped portion. The legs 21b are attached to the bars 12, by welding for example. The U-shaped portion 21a mounts an externally threaded bolt retaining member 21c in which the bolt may rotate but not slide axially. The retaining member 21c is attached to the U-shaped portion 21a by attachment piece 21 d which is mounted rotatable on the U-shaped portion 21a.

The spacer 17a which is proximate the bracket 21 has an internally threaded nut 23 attached thereto. The engagement of the respective threads of bolt 22 and nut 23 cause the levers with which space 17a is associated to pivot about their attachment to the bars 12 (or the outer cage if they are mounted thereto). Since all the levers 14 are joined to the bars 13, rotation of the bolt 22 moves the bars 13 between the positions shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Whilst the illustrated example shows 12 bars 12 and two bars 13, the invention is not restricted to this number of bars 12, 13. The number of bars may be as few as one and may be more than two. Further, it is not essential that the number of bars 12 and 13 be equal. For example there may be two bars 12 and one bar 13 or vice versa. The levers 14, spacers 17 and rods 16 or the component incorporating the levers 14 would need to be adapted in accordance with the number of bars 12 and 13 present.

The advantage provided by the pre-assembled piling cage of the invention is best illustrated in Figures 1a and 1b and Figures 4a and 4b.

Figures 1a and 1b illustrate pre-assembled piling cages 1 of the prior art. As can be seen, when stacked there can be no significant meshing of adjacent piling cages 1 because the bars 3 prevent this.

On the contrary, the pre-assembled piling cages of the invention allow two or three piling cages to be meshed together such that much of the space occupied by the meshed piling cages is shared. This provides for more efficient transportation and storage.

Once the piling cages of the invention are on site, all that is required for use is for the bolt 22 to be turned until the bars 13 are in engagement with the inner surface of the outer cage 11. The bars 13 can come into a tight frictional engagement with the inner surface of the outer cage, although this is not strictly necessary, since the whole cage will be encased in concrete.

Claims

1. A pre-fabricated piling cage comprising an outer cage component, at least one first inner component which is attached to the outer cage component and at least one second inner component which is moveable between a collapsed position where the at least one second inner component lies to one side of the outer cage and an extended position where the at least one second component lies to the other side of the outer cage.

2. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to Claim 1, wherein in the extended position the at least one second component lies substantially adjacent to and in engagement with an inner surface of the outer cage component.

3. A prefabricated piling cage according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer cage component is elongate.

4. A prefabricated piling cage according to any preceding claim, in the form of a ring in crosssection perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said outer cage.

5. A prefabricated piling cage according to Claim 4, wherein the ring shape is one of: circular, elliptical; polygonal and an irregular shape.

6. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to any preceding claim, wherein the outer cage comprises an element such as a bar or rod or wire.

7. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to Claim 6, wherein the element is in the form of a helix or a plurality of rings.

8. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to any preceding claim, wherein the first inner component comprises one or more elongate elements extending in the axial direction of the outer cage.

9. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to any preceding claim, wherein the second inner component comprises one or more elongate elements extending in the axial direction of the outer cage.

10. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to Claim 8 or 9, wherein the elongate element is a bar or a rod.

11. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each second inner component is attached to one or more of the at least one first inner component or the outer cage or to another component that is attached to the outer cage and/or the first inner component.

12. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to any preceding claim, further comprising a base and the or each second inner component is attached to the base.

13. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to any preceding claim, and comprising at least two levers provided between the second inner component and the first inner component or the outer cage, the levers pivotally connected to each of the second inner component and a selected one of the first inner component or the outer cage.

14. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to any preceding claim, wherein the prefabricated piling cage includes means to move the second inner component to the extended position.

15. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to Claim 14, wherein the means to move the second inner component to the extended position comprises an elongate externally threaded member attached to the outer cage either directly or via an intermediary component in a manner that permits rotation of the externally threaded member about its own axis and an internally threaded member attached to or comprising a part of at least one of the at least two levers.

16. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to Claim 15 when dependent on Claim 12, wherein the externally threaded member is mounted in the base.

17. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to Claim 12 or any claim dependent thereon, wherein the base comprises a substantially U-shaped element, the free ends of the U-shaped element attached to the outer cage or the first inner component.

18. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to Claim 17, wherein the U-shaped element includes legs.

19. A pre-fabricated piling cage according to Claim 18, wherein the legs extend in the longitudinal direction of the first component, with the part of the U-shaped element that supports the elongate threaded member extending substantially perpendicular thereto.

20. A pre-fabricated piling cage substantially as shown in, and as described with reference to Figures 2 to 4b of the Drawings.